Hackney SEND Newsletter – September 2020
By Berkan Ferit In ParentsWe have extracted some parts of the latest Hackney SEND Newsletter which we thought some of our parents would find useful. Please read below.
Time to Talk Project for young people aged 16-25 – National Development for Inclusion Team (NDTi).
This project is to help support young people with SEND to plan for the future, following the disruption caused by the pandemic and lockdown.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused anxiety and uncertainty for many young people across England. For young people who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families it has been particularly challenging. Funded for six months by the National Lottery Community Fund, Time to Talk is a new project offering young people free, strength-based support at home to counter social isolation and provide motivation to make plans for the future.
- Are you betweeen 16 and 25?
- Unsure what you will do after lockdown?
- Would it help to talk to someone and develop your ideas?
If you are a young person with additional needs you can request support from this new project, Time to Talk. We can help build your confidence and plan what you want to do next.
About the project: Time to Talk will offer one-to-one and group online sessions that are adapted to suit you and will include:
– chatting and getting to know each other
– hearing what matters to you and your hopes for the future
– doing activity sheets together to help you to make a plan
(this is to help you identify your goals and can be shared with others afterwards if you wish)
To take part, you will need:
– internet access
– an iPad, laptop, or smartphone
– an email address
– a quiet space in your house to use for our sessions
If you need specific help to take part (e.g. shorter sessions so you can move around, an interpreter, or someone who knows you well to sit in) let us know when you complete the form.
If online sessions are not possible for you, we may be able to provide support on the phone instead.
More information and frequently asked questions, a flyer for young people and a flyer for those requesting support on behalf of a young person can be found in the download section of this page.
How to request support from Time to Talk
– If you are a young person, please complete our online Request for Support form here.
– If you are a requesting support on behalf of a young person, please complete the online Request for Support form here.
The first deadline for submitting a Request for Support form is Monday 21 September 2020, 10am. All young people will be informed if they have been allocated session
Time to Talk will run from September 2020 to February 2021.
We will regularly look at requests, so please check this web page for more information and future deadlines.
The Department for Education have published this Checklist for school leaders to support full opening: Behaviour and attendance
Section 4 is on support and includes the following advice:
Identify pupils who are at risk of disengagement (including absence or poor behaviour), and provide specific support
- Many pupils are likely to need some social and emotional support on their return to school. Some pupils will need extra support, such as those who have previously had poor attendance or fixed term exclusions as well as those new to the school, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who have not engaged with school during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
- Engage with the parents and carers of these pupils as soon as possible, ideally before the start of the new school year, to set expectations, understand concerns and build confidence.
- Make sure Pastoral Leads and Designated Safeguarding Leads have undertaken appropriate training to spot signs of distress and poor mental health. Ensure staff are able to identify where changes in behaviour (for example being fearful or withdrawn, aggressive or oppositional, or excessively clingy) may be an indication of an underlying issue.
- Where further support is needed, staff should consider what additional support or reasonable adjustments are needed and put a plan in place to deliver it, with regular points to review. Where pupils already have education, pastoral support or multi-agency plans, these should be updated.
- Where children have special educational needs and disabilities, work with local services (such as health and the local authority) to ensure the services and support are in place that will ensure a smooth return for pupils
Read the full Checklist for school leaders to support full opening: Behaviour and attendance
Department for Education extends some exemptions to children’s social care regulations until March 2021 following public consultation.
The Department for Education has extended some of the exemptions to children’s social care regulations until March 2021 following a public consultation. The government says a further 55 changes are set to lapse on 25 September.
A three-week consultation into the extension of the amendments drew 189 responses from local authorities, individuals, charities and organisations working with vulnerable children.
A document detailing the outcome of the review states:
“A majority of responses were in favour of each of the proposals to extend individual regulations on medical reports, virtual visits, and the continued suspension of the regular cycle of Ofsted inspections of children’s services providers. The majority of responses also agreed that all other temporary flexibilities introduced in April 2020 should lapse and the need to introduce additional safeguards.”
It adds that “local authorities commented the flexibilities had been rarely applied and only with management oversight”.
Read the full article in Children and Young People now.
Hackney Education – SEND Guidance – Academic Year 21/22
Annual Review and Phase Transfer – process for young people with an EHC Plan in Year 11 (and beyond )
New guidance for Headteachers and SENCos in schools, colleges and other Post 16 Settings has been made available on Hackney’s Local Offer website in the Documents Library,
The document provides information for Headteachers, school and post 16 staff regarding the transition of
young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan in year 11 and above.
Young people may be planning to move to a new education setting, or remaining where they are to complete a course of learning. Some may be aiming for higher education and university. Others may be transferring out of education into work or other adult pathway.
Further education setting includes school sixth form, Further Education College, further education training
provider, supported internship and pre-apprenticeship settings.